Improvement in combined knob-latch and lock



dni-ted tatr l sind @Mira Letters Patent N 94,5?4, dated September 7,1869; dntedated August 25, 1869.

The Scheduleirefen'ed to in these Letters Patent and making part'cf fthesame.

To all whom/t may concern:

Beit known that I, W. H. SULLE'NBERGER, of Harrisburg, county ofDauphin, and State of" Pennsylvania, have invented a new and improvedLatch-Lock; and

I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,`

and exact description of the construction and operation of the same,reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure l is a plan of the lock, locked.

Figure 2 is a plan of the lock, partially unlocked.

Figure 3 is a plan of the lock unlocked, and, as such, answering aknob-latch.

Figure 4 is a plan of the escutcheon lever.

-Figure 5 is a sectional view ofthe bit of the key.

Figure 6 is a side View of the reversible keeper.

Figure 7 is an end view of the lock-case.

I construct my lock, as hereinafter explained, to act as a dead-latch,as a common knob-latch, and as a lock, and in such torni of the case andthekeeper as to be applicable to a rght'or leftfhand door, externally,

or as a mortise lock.

.The working parts consist of an arbor, a slide and its thumb-piece, anescutcheon, attached to a lever,

-and a bolt, all arranged in a case which has certain stops, pins, andguards, to locate and regulate. these parts.

The arbor has the usual cylindrical journals for bearings in the sidesof the case, and for` the attachment of knobs.

Attached to the arbor is a lug, b, which is so situated as to strike astop, B, when the arbor is rotated backward, and is of such length as topass free of the walls of the case when the arbor is rotated forward.

Nearly opposite said lug b, on the front side of the arbor, areprojections, a and The projection a serves as an additional stop againstthe wall lof the case, acting simultaneously with the lug b,when thearbor is rotated backward; and the projection a serves as a stop againstthe stop B when `the arbor is rotated forward.

The recess d, between said projections, receives the end S ofthe slidetightly, andthe arm C of the lover loosely.

Said slide S S' rides on a track,vZ, iig. 3, has a lug on its under sidewhich iills the space, transversely, between the rail Z and tile side ofthc case, and is of such thickness as to coine i'lush with the faceplatc1 when it is in place on its track.

after explained, when this is thc case, the latch-bolt cannot be lifted.1t. is thereiore a dead-latch.

The escutcheon-lever, C H E E', fig. 4, has three main working-points,an arm, C, a heel, H, and a curved toe, E E', and is pivot-ed at 1) by apin in the lock-case, as shown in figs. 1, 2, and3.

The end of arm C is narrow enough to enter .the recess d loosely, andVto play in it when the arbor is rotated, as shown in tig. 3, thusvibrating about its pivot D, while the pin F, on 'its heel H, acts astrip-lever for the latch V.

Said arm C is cut obliquely at its end to receive the projection a',about midway on its end, when it is thrown up and out of recess (I, asshown in iig. 1. The arm is always thus elevated when the bolt is thrownforward, and when thus elevated it can go no further up, as the toe E'abut-s against a stop, J, as shown in iig. 1. lhe arbor then cannotrotate forward or backward, as it is stopped at b, a, and C,

' therefore the lock cannot he unlocked except with a key, becauseprojection a' cannot be depressed over the oblique end of C, but saidend can be depressed beneath projection a', and only by the action ofthe key, as hereinafter explained.

The latch-bolt V, figs. 1 and 3, has near itscentre two recesses, 3 4,which form bearings for .the piu F on the heelH ofthe escutchcon lever.run into each other in a wave line or stair, the recess 3 being lowerthan 4, and to the rear of it; thus two recesses are made for said piuF, with a pat-h for it to traverse from the one to the other.

The recess 4 has an arch, 5, over it, which serves as a hook by means ofwhich the pin F lifts the latch, as shown in lig. 3, when said lever istripped by arbor A. The pin F,`when it is midway between the recesses 'ie n 1 3 4,- as shown 1n tig-f1, implnges against the end of the hook 5,and thus assists in lifting the rear o'r weighted end W of the latch.Said end l isthussui'liciently raised to free the tooth 7 from pin m',on thelowerside oithe latch, while a guard, 0, and a tooth, p, oli/theupper side of the latch, regulate the throw, so that no violent actionin theprocess of locking or unlocking or latching, can' throw thelatch-bolt out of working connection. Further, the bit L of the key,iig. 2, in the 'act of locking and unlocking, bycontact with a tooth, 9,likewise raises` the weighted end W` of the latch-bolt, so that the piuF on the lever, and the said bit L of thekey, have a joint andsimultaneous action topass the latch-bolt froin notch 1 to notch2, overthe pin m., and rice rersa, the escutcheon E standing against the shankof the key while it .completes Vits revolution, and thus holding t-hepin F poised to find its pat-h from one recess to the other.

The pin F is elliptical in form, and is so placed that its lower sharpside, when in recess 3, resists firmly Said recesses 3 4 v pin m.

the rcturn ot' the bolt into the case, as shown in fig. 1, unless it isreturned with the key.

When the latch-bolt is locked, as shown in tig. 1,

' the pin m is in notch 1; the pin F isin recess 3; the

l from' the recess 3 without the aid ofthe key; the lock is thereforelocked.

No ordinary key will -unlock this loc-k from the nature ofthe turn whichit must make inthe escutcheon E E.

Freni the position of insertion'of the key, as shown in iig. 1, theescutcheon und bit ofthe key pass to the. position shown in tig. 4. l

The curved toe E cuts or dips in to the recessed bit L, while the outerund of the bit tightly hugs a projeetion, n, ou the escutcheon, whichpoint must be passed before thc Vkey can be suliciently rotated'toactuate the bolt, as shown in fig. 2, and the key-slnuxk must also besufficiently thick to keep' the escutcheon in the'propped er suspendedposition, as shown in fig.

v 2, in order to free the pin F from vrecess 3 inthe bolt,

as well as to release the arbor. rlhe key is therefore made, as shown inlig. 5, with straight or full outline ot" the bit, except that its sidesare recessed to such an extent as to leave only a thin partingof' metalin the body of the bit.

A is withdrawn from its keeper, R, the lock is unlocked,

and it then acts as alatch, for the arin C is free` toy play in recessd, while arbor A is rotated, and this i action of the lever trips thelever on its pivot D, and

thus the bolt'Nv is lifted, its weighted end W, in connection with'theguard o, keeping,r it inposition on the lhe escntcheon lever in thisposition partially shuts the key-hole K, so that ifl now the slide S be1t' an ordinary serrated key-bit is thus cut to fit this lock byburglars or others, there.

'to serve as strikes for the latch.

shifted so as to lock 'the arbor, the latch cannot b'e lifted fromwithout, as the pin F resists the ascent of it, and the ascent of thepin F itself is resisted by the arbor, which, by this condition, islocked, therefore no key can be inserted outside, and this is adead-latch and lock combined. The slide S may also be thus combined withthe arbor when the bolt is thrown forward while the key is in the lock,as shown in iig. 1, and the keyitself will thus be locked fast to kclosethe keyhole against burglars. Y

The'keeper l, as shown in gs. 1 and 6, is reversi-- ble, having twoheads, M N, with screw seats, and has right and left abutlnents, Q,which are so rounded Viewed, as in iig. 6, the keeper is so recessedthat after the latch has passed the' strike Q, it falls into arecessLand that if now the latch is tln'own`forward, as in iig'. 1, itis held under the pin P. It can thus be lifted out of the recess onlyafter the act of unlocking.

The front end'of the lock, as shown in iig. 7, has

two anges, one v ou each side of the case, whose outlines-'match thecurvature ofthe keeper nearly, so that the lock can be applied toa rightor leftdland door, or b v xnortisiug the door and its jamb, it maybeused as a inortise lock.

I disclaim certain arbors with side projections, lugs, pins, or theirequivalents; neither do l claim, broadly, the use of double orreversible keepers; but

What I do claim as new, and what 1 desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States,i's v l. The escutcheon lever GH E E', when pivoted atI) and made to vibrate between the projections a af, substantially as,and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. The latch V, provided with recesses 3 4, notches 1 2, and tooth p, incombination with lug F, pin m, and guard o, all arranged to operatesubstantially as and for the purpose setibrth.

3. Thel escutcheon E E n of the lever C H, in combination with key-bitL, arranged to operate substantiallyas and for the purpose set forth.

W. H. SULLENBERGER.

Witnesses:

'lHnoPHILUs WEAVER,

, 'JOHN A. HALLER. y

